Dear Atty. Kathy,

I have a friend who tested positive for HIV during our annual medical checkup in the company. My friend told me that when HR spoke with him, he was told that his employment could be terminated due to disease under the Labor Code, but that he will be entitled to a separation pay of one-half month salary for every year of service. Is this legal? We checked the company handbook, there is nothing mentioned about testing positive for HIV as a ground for separation.

Sophia

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Dear Sophia,

Republic Act (RA) 11166, known as the Philippine HIV and AIDS Policy Act provides that termination of employment solely or partially on the basis of actual HIV status is prohibited (Section 49).

Based solely on your narration, your friend’s employment may be terminated due to disease, as he tested positive for HIV. If there is no other valid cause for the termination of your friend’s employment, then terminating your friend’s employment solely due to testing positive for HIV is illegal.

As ruled by the Supreme Court, since RA 11166 categorically prohibits the use of a person’s HIV positive condition as a ground for dismissal, the inescapable conclusion is that there is no valid cause to terminate your friend’s employment, and that doing so is tantamount to illegal dismissal.

(Bison Management Corporation v. AAA, et al., G.R. No. 256540, 14 February 2024)

Atty. Kathy Larios